Staff Writers23 March 2009, 12:36 PM
iiNet has announced that it has pulled out of the government's controversial internet filtering pilot.
iiNet, Australia’s third largest Internet Service Provider, has advised the Federal Government that it is withdrawing from the proposed internet filtering trial.
iiNet’s Managing Director, Michael Malone, says they only agreed to participate in the trial to demonstrate that the policy was fundamentally flawed, a waste of taxpayers’ money and would not work.
Mr Malone said after drawn-out negotiations with the Department of Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy (DBCDE), it was clear that an agreement could not be reached.
He cites constant changes in the policy, confused explanations of the purpose of the trial and recent revelations regarding the “blacklist” as clear indications that the trial is unnecessary.
“We are not able to reconcile participation in the trial with our corporate social responsibility, our customer service objectives and our public position on censorship,” says Mr. Malone.
“It became increasingly clear that the trial was not simply about restricting child pornography or other such illegal material, but a much wider range of issues including what the Government simply describes as “unwanted material” without an explanation of what that includes.
“Everyone is repulsed by, and opposed to, child pornography but this trial and policy is not the solution or even about that.
“In reality, the vast majority of online child pornography activity does not appear on public websites but is distributed over peer-to-peer networks which are not and cannot be captured by this trial or policy.”
Mr Malone said the Government should re-think its approach and urgently needs to make clear what its intentions are in respect of internet censorship, this lack of communication from government and bureaucracy is rightly seen as underhand and unsavory and is now attracting international dismay as well as Australian disgust.